This invention relates to microscope drape positioning systems employing a universal drape, and more particularly to a novel drape adapter that permits use of a universal drape without disassembling any part of the microscope.
Microscopes used in performing surgery are generally permanent fixtures in an operating room. The relatively large size of the microscope and its structural complexity makes it difficult to sterilize the microscope each time a surgery is performed. Thus it is common practice before each surgical procedure to cover the surgical microscope with a disposable sterile drape.
A microscope drape is often initially affixed to the microscope at the lens housing for the objective lens, to orient the drape with respect to other structure of the microscope. For example, a microscope drape such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,779 includes an annular positioning sleeve attached to a cover member of the drape. The positioning sleeve is adapted to fit onto the objective lens housing of the microscope to initially affix the microscope drape to the microscope. Once the microscope drape is attached to the objective lens housing, other portions of the drape can be conveniently spread and positioned to cover the remainder of the microscope structure.
To ensure that the microscope drape forms a sterile barrier between the microscope and the operating room, it is desirable that the positioning sleeve tightly grip the objective lens housing and that other portions of the microscope drape including the cover member be arranged on the microscope as a protective enclosure.
It has been found that the objective lens housing for comparable microscopes of different manufacture are often of different size. Thus a microscope drape positioning sleeve that tightly grips the lens housing of one microscope may not tightly grip the lens housing of a similar size microscope made by another manufacturer. Consequently, a microscope drape designed for one manufacturer's microscope is usually not feasible for draping a second manufacturer's microscope since an insecure fit of the positioning sleeve on the second manufacturer's lens housing can compromise the sterile barrier provided by the drape. Also, an ill fitting positioning sleeve of the drape that slips away from the objective lens housing during surgery may impede the surgeon's view or necessitate interruption of the surgery to resecure the positioning sleeve.
Thus, to ensure compatibility between the microscope and the microscope drape, it is customary to manufacture microscope drapes with positioning sleeves of different size that can be selected to provide a snug fit on the lens housings of different microscope manufacturers.
Thus, manufacturers of microscope drapes, and hospitals which stock such microscope drapes, must keep separate inventories of microscope drapes for each differently manufactured microscope that is used in a surgical facility.
If the supply of microscope drapes for a microscope of one manufacturer becomes depleted, an operating room may be rendered unusable while awaiting resupply of the correct drape for the microscope.
It is thus desirable to provide a positioning system for a microscope drape that permits use of the same microscope drape with the same positioning sleeve on a variety of different microscopes having different lens housings without the need to disassemble any part of the microscope.